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Pharaohs? Great, Iíve always wanted to go to Egypt! Eh,... what other Pharaohs??

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A superb season and exactly what we needed after last year’s disappointment. We never looked back after hitting the summit of the table just before the halfway mark. In the end we clinched the title with three games remaining. That meant we went into our game against NSI (that I thought would be critical) having already won the league, so it was all the sweeter to rub it in!

Top Scorer: Jakup Martin Poulsen (YP52) & Tordur Dam (YP81) – Poulsen had a fairly poor season by his previous standards, but managed to pull it together a bit in the second half of the season. The goalscoring surprise of the season was star defender Dam’s contribution with 10 goals to equal Poulsen.Most Assists: Bergur Gregersen (YP22) – Gregersen was our creative force again this season with 10 assists. Unfortunately this will be his final season in a Hoyvik shirt; he simply refuses to even discuss terms on a new deal.Manager’s Player of the Year:Tordur Dam (YP81) – I think it simply has to go to Dam. He was strong at the back and up front. A special mention however, has to go to Bjarki Djuhuus (YP97) who was simply astonishing after coming through in this season’s youth intake.Fan’s Player of the Year: Tordur Dam (YP81) – not a massive surprise!

Next Season

Big changes are afoot. I’d mentioned earlier that Gregerson is leaving us, but he will be joined by a number of players that have made their mark on the team in past seasons. Those most notable are listed below:

Trygvi Askham – our very last player from the original squad. He lost his place in the team this year, so is not a major loss, but his departure is definitely a door closing on the old regime.

Hanus Nielsen (YP31) – a previous winner of fan’s player of the year and had been a first choice centreback alongside Dam this season.

Sadly, none of them will even discuss terms and look like they’d prefer the dole queue to playing Champions League football next season.

On a more positive note, I don’t think we will miss them too much (one or two perhaps, but it won’t hurt us in the long-run). The quality within our side is growing steadily and I’ll be looking to dominate the league again next season. As for Europe, it will really depend on who we are drawn against. I had hoped we would avoid a qualifier against a fellow diddy nation but our ranking has fallen again so we have to go through the first qualifying round again.

Finally, our recent takeover bid collapsed, so my job is safe for now, although I expect one to be finalised at some point in the future.

In my rush to read my news item at the end of last season I failed to notice that it would be 2019/20 season when the Faroese champions would need to play in the first qualifying round of the Champions League. Since we are just starting season 2018/19, it means that we bypassed the other diddies and went straight into the draw for Q2 this year.

The draw pit us against Slovenian champions Maribor who I imagined would be a step up yet again after we lost to Skonto last season. Despite that, I think we have improved as well so was interested to see if we could give them a good game. We were drawn at home in the first leg and our fans were certainly interested in seeing how we would fare.

What followed was simply amazing. Within 2 minutes we were a goal down and at that point I must admit I was thinking damage limitation, but then the impossible happened; we scored. Then we scored again, and again, and again. And again! It ended 5-1 in what is surely our best result ever, in front of our record attendance. That even broke our gate receipt record as we brought in a massive, ahem £22k.

Iíd be lying if I said we didnít ride our luck a bit in that match, but I was fairly sure that we wouldn't capitulate in the second leg. Thankfull,y we only lost by four goals to two and that was enough to send us through 7-5 on aggregate. It was a great achievement and shows that we are making real progress.

The next round drew us against Danish giants FC Kobenhavn. Surely this would be a step too far for us. They had reached the Europa League group stage last season and the Champions League groups the season before that. That said, I was confident we could cause an upset.

Seems I was living in cloud-cuckoo land. A heavy 3-0 defeat at home (in front of another record attendance) was followed by a 7-2 humiliation over in Denmark. Not exactly what Iíd hoped for.

Itís obvious that our steps forward are going to be very small, slow and steady. We canít expect to suddenly beat well established European teams, but we need to keep putting ourselves up against them so we can learn from these matches and, more importantly, gain the income we need to build up our own club.

So that concludes our Champions League campaign for this season, BUT not our European campaign. We now fall into the Europa League Fourth Qualifying round where we will face Dinamo Moscow. Iím not expecting much from that one to be honest. The tie is after the season starts, so Iíll update you on how it goes in the next post.

Just the three pre-season friendlies this year and they were all played by backup players because the main first team guys were busy playing in our Euro campaign. Results were mixed. My assistant had somehow persuaded French side Nantes to travel to the Faroes to play us (a sign of our slowly growing reputation?) and we put up a decent showing to only lose 4-3. Otherwise we played a couple of domestic sides as usual.

Board Expectations

Vodafonedeildin: Qualify for Europe LÝgmanssteypiū (the cup): Reach the quarter finalFaroese Super Cup: Learn from the experienceUEFA Champions League: Learn from the experienceUEFA Europa League: Learn from the experience

The board expectations have increased again this season. I wish theyíd place less importance on the cup because tomorrowís tricky first round tie comes just days before our first game against Moscow.

My Expectations

Vodafonedeildin: Win it LÝgmanssteypiū (the cup): Not botheredFaroese Super Cup: Not botheredUEFA Champions League: Learn from the experienceUEFA Europa League: Learn from the experience

Currently looking pretty good, but I know from experience that we will be back in the red by the end of the season. That hasnít stopped me having another go at getting our training facilities improved again.

As for season ticket sales, a highly surprising figure of 28 were sold.

I think our squad is just about the right size now, but it is lacking in balance. We have too many players in some positions (e.g. centrebacks) and not enough in some others (e.g. fullback). Furthermore, the difference between our best players and worst players is starting to grow.

We are really struggling to find a decent goalkeeper. Karl Poulsen (YP59) is our best bet after the departure of Askham leaves us with only YP players in the squad.

I donít want to spend too long going into detail about our key players, because I post them in the end of season round-up and not much changes between then and now!

Thanks guys. Yes we're making progress, but I wish the big teams would take pity on us a little instead of smashing 7 goals past us!

FC Hoyvik
Mid-Season 2018/19

Before I get onto the mundane of the league, we had another European tie to play. We faced Dinamo Moscow in the Europa League 4th Qualifying Round. The results against Kobenhavn had dented my confidence a little and I didnít expect much going into the matches against the Russians.

Iím happy to say that Europe hasnít been a distraction this season and our ever-improving squad are in a comfortable position at the top of the table. Weíve scored the most goals and conceded the least in the league and that is usually a good recipe for success.

Weíve also managed to meet the boards minimum requirement of a quarter final place in the cup, and we retained the Super Cup against NSI. All-in-all, very satisfying.

Our talisman has definitely been Bjarki Djuhuus (YP97), who has been putting in performances the likes of which have never been seen before at a club like ours. I hope we can hold onto him for a long, long time.

I have a quick question for everybody; now that I have a squad fully made up of players from my youth system, do you think I should still give each player a YP number after their name, or is it no longer necessary?

I have a quick question for everybody; now that I have a squad fully made up of players from my youth system, do you think I should still give each player a YP number after their name, or is it no longer necessary?

It's entirely up to you now, if you're not going to sign anyone then the YP isn't needed.

I have a quick question for everybody; now that I have a squad fully made up of players from my youth system, do you think I should still give each player a YP number after their name, or is it no longer necessary?

I would keep it simply because you can track your YP's. When you sell some, they will pop up in opposition sides in Europe etc. Also, good to know how many you have produced.

Itís a fairly disappointing intake this season, but we canít have a great one ever year I guess. The best player this year is Eydun Bech (YP113). He probably isnít good enough to get in the team though. You can guess what that means about the lesser players from the intake Ė they arenít great.

For the first time we released some of the intake immediately as seven of them were shown the door without even getting a YP number.

Finally, the reputation of our youth system improved some more a three of our players lined up for the Faroes in their recent friendly against Macedonia. Tordur Dam (YP81) picked up his 5th cap and there were debuts for Hallur Petersen (YP82) and, you guessed it, Bjarki Djuhuus (YP97). Itís a shame they were beaten 3-0, but itís more progress for our club.

In other news, we managed to get ourselves a parent club. I asked the board for one purely for the extra income and Viking they send us any I wonít play them.

Another very satisfying season ends with the treble of League, Cup and Super Cup for the second season in a row. I think it is safe to say that we are now the team to beat domestically. We ended up going unbeaten for the entire league season and that is quite an achievement. Iíve been in charge just short of eight years now, so from second tier rubbish to ďinvinciblesĒ in that time frame is pretty good in my eyes.

Europe is a different story and this seasonís results showed just how far we still have to go to be able to even compete at the highest level. We are progressing though and that is the main thing. It is slow going, and once again the chairman cancelled the upgrade of our training ground. It was due to cost £95k and we ended the season with just £60k in the bank, so itís frustrating but we are getting there financially.

Weíll be forced to play in qualifying round 1 of the Champions League again next season (I think!), but hopefully we can get through that and then the next round (i.e. a repeat of this seasonís success). If we can Iím sure weíll be able to afford the training ground improvements this time next year.

Board Expectations

Vodafonedeildin: Qualify for Europe SurpassedLÝgmanssteypiū (the cup): Reach the quarter final SurpassedFaroese Super Cup: Learn from the experience SurpassedUEFA Champions League: Learn from the experience AchievedUEFA Europa League: Learn from the experience Achieved

Unfortunately, itís not all success and some players just donít quite manage to make the grade. For instance, goalkeeper Karl Poulsen (YP59) blew his chances this season and will leave when his contract runs out this month. Another man on his last chance is a star in decline, Jakup Martin Poulsen (YP52 , who continues to underachieve. He has just one season left to show me he is worth keeping.

Next Season

More of the same is needed really. Another title is the minimum requirement, and we really need at least one win in Europe to secure funding for the badly needed investment in our training ground. The one annoying thing in the background is the continuing attempts of the chairman to sell the club; talks keep on breaking down, but I wish it would just get over and done with.

Confusion reigns every year over whether we enter the Champions League at the first or second qualifying round. All the information we had pointed towards a first qualifying round match this season, but for whatever reason we ended up being entered into the second qualifying round.

The draw paired us up with Slovakian team MSK Vilina. They looked much the same standard as Maribor, or possible slightly worse, so I was fairly confident that we would be able to beat them over two legs. That certainly looked likely when we put three goals past them without reply in the first leg. Having said that, the match statistics belied another story as they dominated possession and shots on goal. However, I was sure weíd be able to do enough in the second leg to progress, and that proved to be correct as we held them to a draw despite being outplayed again.

As expected, qualify round 3 gave us a much sterner test; this time against Sparta Prague. I didnít expect an awful lot (expect another heavy beating), so I was very pleasantly surprised when we came away from their ground with a narrow defeat. The away goal gave us a great chance in the second leg if we could just sneak a 1-0 victory. Alas, it was to no avail, as once again we were outplayed and this time they showed no mercy.

So now we are given a second chance by going into the 4th Qualifying round of the Europa League. This season we will play Turkish giants Besiktas. For the first time in our history, we will be live on TV. Itís another small milestone for the club and, whilst the extra revenue is small, every little helps.

We only had a couple of pre-season friendlies this year, and the reserves managed to remain unbeaten.

Board Expectations

Vodafonedeildin: Qualify for Europe LÝgmanssteypiū (the cup): Reach the semi finalFaroese Super Cup: Learn from the experienceUEFA Champions League: Learn from the experienceUEFA Europa League: Learn from the experience

Once more the board want us to do better in the domestic cup. Itís a trophy I put very little weight on, so we obviously have slightly different ambitions. Somewhat bizarrely, we will play a team of trialists in the first round of the competition and no one fancies us to win!

I think my post-season round-up more than covered our key players. In more general terms, our goalkeeper is mediocre, as is our rightback. The rest of the defence is very good. The midfield is quite strong too, but we could do with a new striker. So, three or four new players and I think weíd have a much better chance in Europe. Hereís hoping youth candidate day is good to us this year.

I thought our Europa League 4th Qualifying round matches against Besiktas were going to be tough, but I hadnít realised quite how difficult they would be. A quick look at their squad unveiled players like this guy; the type of player I can only dream about having.

We are well and truly in the position of being too good for our domestic league and not good enough for Europe. I think that is reflected well in our results this season. I mean, weíve only conceded one goal in the league so far this season; that is ridiculous. I expect someone will take a at least point a point off us before the end of the season, but I fully expect us to be champions for the third year running and the fourth time in my tenure.

In other news, we have completed another of the achievements I set myself at the beginning of this journey. It was achieved when we had five players called up to the same national squad in September. To be honest I hadnít been paying to much attention to the full squad, so I was a bit surprised to see that the manager hadnít been picking a full compliment of players. I guess that means that most of my squad are terrible if theyíd rather have fake players in there! In any case, it did them no good. All five of my players started the match as they were trounced by Montenegro.

Strangely, the fifth of our players to gain international honours was Tummas Jacobsen (YP103). I say strangely because I donít particularly rate him and he spends more time on our bench than on the pitch.

Achievements Completed

Have five players called up to the national team squad Achieved 2019/20

With the league as good as won, I have been looking forward to youth intake day. As I said at the start of the season, I felt that we needed a better GK, DR and FC. Would we get any of these? Read on to find out:

The best of the new players is an OMC Eydun Lakjuni (YP122), who looks terrific and is a similar player to our current star man Bjarki Djuhuus (YP97). If he can make the same impact as Djuhuus then Iíll be delighted.

Otherwise there isnít an awful lot of talent on display. Some are worth keeping and will had some depth to the squad, but I donít think they will make a huge impact. We will just have to wait another year until we can get the GK and FC that I think is critical to our plans for success in Europe.

Thereís been a bit of a worrying development this week as for the first time a club from abroad became interested in one of our players. Charleroi of Belgium are after Tordur Dam (YP81). Iíve stuck a £2.5m pricetag on his head, so hopefully that will ward them off.

A treble treble! We continued our domestic dominance this season with the trio of league, cup and super cup success for the third year running. We were pretty close to a 100% record in the league, with just two points dropped all season (against second place HB). We only conceded four goals in our 18 league games and simply outclassed everyone else.

With the domestic scene tied up, our real challenge is now in Europe. We showed that we are good enough to reach the third qualifying round of the Champions League, but no where near being good enough to even compete with the teams at that level. There is still an awful lot of work ahead.

Board Expectations

Vodafonedeildin: Qualify for Europe SurpassedLÝgmanssteypiū (the cup): Reach the semi final SurpassedFaroese Super Cup: Learn from the experience SurpassedUEFA Champions League: Learn from the experience AchievedUEFA Europa League: Learn from the experience Achieved

Top Scorer: Hallur Petersen (YP82) Ė A bit of a strange one this; his finishing is terrible, but he still managed 15 goals from midfield. It seems that his pace and aggression cause teams all sorts of problems with his runs from deep positions.Most Assists: Bjarki Djuhuus (YP97) Ė Djuhuus didnít quite reach last seasonís fantastic levels, but he was still impressive. An unfortunate injury near the end of the season could see him miss out on our European campaign for next season. If so, that would be a massive loss for the team.Managerís Player of the Year:Hallur Petersen (YP82) Ė I think he deserves it for his goal and assist haul alone.Fanís Player of the Year: Hallur Petersen (YP82)

We have a number of key players outwith those recognised above, but most of them have been highlighted before, so here are a few that I donít think Iíve mentioned much previously that deserve a bit of praise this year:

Roi Jacobsen (YP110) Ė Roi has made a good fist at becoming our number one striker. Heís not the quickest, but has managed to get in amongst the goals this year.

Johannes Lakjuni (YP116) Ė Iíve moaned quite a bit about our lack of a decent goalkeeper, but Lakjuni has had a reasonable enough season to stop me from worrying domestically at least. European football is probably going to prove too much for him though.

Kaj Hentze (YP98) Ė Kaj is our unchallenged leftback and if I was to pick out one of our uncapped players for the national team, it would be him.

Next Season

Iím very relaxed about our domestic fixtures now. Baring a disaster, we should be capable of winning the title every year. For some time much of my focus has been ensuring that we have Champions League football each season, but next year will probably be the first time that Iím confident enough that we will achieve that fairly easily. Hopefully that means that we can now join the road leading to making an impact in the competition.

Next season is likely to be too soon to progress beyond Q3 (unless we get a favourable draw for once), but now that we have finally begun building up our training ground I really feel that we have the opportunity to ramp up our speed of progress.

I think the biggest problem we have to avoid is any complacency; both in the league and in the early stages (Q1 and Q2) of the Champions League.

We found ourselves back in qualifying round 1 for no discernable reason this season. That meant a tie against San Marino minnows Tre Penne and one that I expected to win fairly easily.

The first leg met my expectations as we thrashed them 4-0, gaining 70% of the possession and even missing a penalty along the way. We went one better in the second leg to progress 9-0 on aggregate. Hopefully that will be the last time we find ourselves in Q1 and from now on we can start out in the next round.

So far we’ve managed to do pretty well in Q2 and this year gave us the chance to progress again as, for once, the draw was pretty kind to us. We would travel to Slovenia to meet NK Domzale who looked relatively poor on paper. Having said that, the first leg was a pretty tight affair and they may even have deserved more than the 1-1 draw they got. Thankfully we pulled our act together for the second leg and we looked very dominant as we progressed 6-1 on aggregate.

The draw for Q3 unfortunately wasn’t so kind because this time our name came out alongside Belgian champions Anderlecht. If we could get anything out of this, it would easily be our best result to date, so I was immensely proud of the team when we managed a creditable 1-1 draw at home. I was even slightly disappointed for them to equalise with 15 minutes remaining when we looked like we might even sneak a 1-0 victory. It is the first time that we have been able compete with a team of that calibre and it gave us the slimmest of chances in the second leg.

It looked very much like we were dead and buried within the first ten minutes of that though when they hit two early goals. However, we didn’t crumble and managed to get a goal back. One more and we would be through on away goals.

But then disaster happened; late in the first half Frits Lakjuni (YP88) was ordered off for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity and that completely dashed our hopes. The heads went down and Anderlecht got two second half goals to seal their victory.

The result puts us into the Europa League 4th Qualifying Round again where this year our opponents will be Dutch side Heerenveen. I’d rate them roughly around the same level as Anderlecht so, with a lot of luck, we can hopefully make a positive impact.

Again, with our European matches acting as our pre-season, we only had a couple of friendly matches. This year, both were against foreign sides and both ended in defeat. I’m not at all bothered as only our backup players featured.

Board Expectations

Vodafonedeildin: Win it LÝgmanssteypiū (the cup): Not botheredFaroese Super Cup: Learn from the experienceUEFA Champions League: Learn from the experienceUEFA Europa League: Learn from the experience

The board have finally come around to my way of thinking; the cup matters not a jot and the league is where we need to focus. It’s nice of them to finally catch-on!

We’ve maintained a healthy bank account over the course of the last two seasons. It goes without saying that it is a great boost to our development and this allows us to invest in our infrastructure. To have excellent junior coaching is hopefully going to help us make another step-up in quality.

The squad is still somewhat unbalanced. We’ve picked up a couple of injuries recently and it has really highlighted our lack of depth. We don’t have much, if any, cover for goalkeeper, both fullbacks, attacking midfield or striker whereas we have a plethora of central defenders and defensive midfielders.

Overall, we should have plenty in reserve for winning the league but we are at least one quality centre forward away from making a real impact in Europe. Indeed, our options up front reduced a little when Jakup Martin Poulsen (YP52) left the club last month. He remains our club record goalscorer, but his dwindling return saw him become a bit-part player last season. He wasn’t too happy at that obviously and chose to try his luck elsewhere.

It may have been misplaced optimism, but our performances against Anderlecht in the Champions League qualifiers gave me a glimmer of hope that we could really cause a shock against Hereenveen. Of course we were rank outsiders, but I was certain that if we could stay within touching distance after the first leg away from home then we could think about grabbing a narrow victory back on our home turf.

At halftime in the first leg, my optimism did seem misplaced. We were 2-0 down and looking like going further behind, but we regrouped and came out fighting for the second half. Almost immediately, we halved the deficit and then before long we were all square. I was certain that if we could keep it at 2-2 we would be able to hold on at home, but, with just nine minutes remaining, the Dutch struck a third to steal away our chances of a famous draw.

Still, a 3-2 defeat away from home in Europe is hardly a disaster and I was still hopeful that we could fight for victory and with it, a place in the Europa League group stages. Unfortunately, it just wasnít to be this season. We fought hard and even had more possession, but we just lacked the quality required. A 2-0 defeat was disappointing, but overall we continue to show signs of improvement and that is all I can ask for.

We continue to dominate domestically and are averaging four goals a game. Even teams like NSI who used to give us a good game are brushed aside. There really isnít any challenge there at all now, yet Iím not particularly highly thought of as a manger Ė the Faroes international team manager post came up, but I was laughed out of town for even applying for it. They chose to appoint the under 19ís manager instead, so I applied for that post too, but failed to get it either.

One last piece of news to leave you with: Anfinn Jacobsen (YP92) has just become our sixth YP player to be recognised for full international honours.

Yeah, not half. Thankfully I'm seeing signs of a slow improvement in Europe. I'd expect us to make the step up to the group stages (probably of the Europa League) possibly within the next three or maybe five seasons.

I guess strikers are like buses; you wait ages for one and then two come along at once. Petur Jacobsen (YP133) and Roi Hansen (YP134) are our highest rated players. Jacobsen looks much the stronger to me. Heís not the usual type of striker Iíd look for because heís more of a targetman than a poacher, so I will need to consider whether we should change our style of play to accommodate him or whether I should try to squeeze him into our system.

Elsewhere, Arnbjorn Nielsen (YP135) is the most impressive other player from this year's intake and he will fight for a place in our already busy midfield department.

The domestic scene is too easy for us now and I canít see it getting more difficult any time soon. After winning 18 out of 18 in the league and averaging almost 4.5 goals per game, we really have nothing left to prove at this level. We only showed signs of slowing down when I blooded some of the new youngsters towards the end of the season.

We have had a number of other players at the tops of their games this season.

Jon Kjaerbaek (YP132) Ė it has been an amazing season for the forward. He never really came into my thoughts until injuries to other players forced him onto the teamsheet, but his record has really amazed me for a player of such obviously limited talent. He has really been helped by the quality just behind him on the pitch.

Bjarki Djuhuus (YP97) Ė Djuhuus embodies the quality that has helped get the most out of Kjaerbaek. Whilst he hasnít laid on as many goals this season, he has added more goals to his game.

Hallur Petersen (YP82) Ė Petersen is the third player in our attacking midfield trio. Whilst he isnít as technically (or indeed mentally) strong as Djuhuus or Lakjuni, he weighs in with his share of goals and assists.

Frits Lakjuni (YP88) Ė Another of the Lakjuni family, but this one is more about defending than attacking. We only conceded 5 goals in the league this year and a lot of that is down to this guy.

Next Season

Iíd be very surprised if we didnít win the league, so the focus will be on Europe again. Iím becoming something of a broken record in saying that, but it is true. With another season behind us I think we have improved and hopefully that will show when we kick off our qualifying campaign in July.

Thanks for reading and inputting into the thread guys, it's appreciated

FC Hoyvik
Pre-Season 2021/22

Champions League

Thankfully we went straight into the second qualifying round for the Champions league this season. We are becoming quite adept at progressing past that point and we soon dispatched Irish side Bohemians with a couple of impressive victories; firstly a well deserved 3-1 win away from home that was then followed by a more even match as we recorded a 2-1 win at the Gundadular.

Fans of variety will not be pleased to hear that we drew Anderlecht again in the third qualifying round; they were the team that put us out of the competition at this stage last year.

We travelled to Belgium for the first leg where we more than held our own to record a brilliant 1-1 draw. That left us within touching distance of the fourth round (the Champions playoff). Even the losing teams that get to that round are guaranteed a place in the group stage of the Europa League with the winner sealing the ultimate prize; a place in the Champions League group stage.

The second leg was simply amazing and is probably best described by the highlights themselvesÖ

Our finances are still quite steady. The increased sums of money we spend on junior coaching are having quite a big impact though. We really could do with going one better in Europe at some stage soon.

Still a bit big, still a bit unbalanced, but slowly getting there! Last youth intake day brought us the better strikers we needed, so there are now really only one or two positions that need strengthened. I think our performances in the Champions League qualifier against Anderlecht prove that.

Hopefully we can if we get a favorable draw. Although anyone except Anderlecht would do me just now!

FC Hoyvik
Mid-Season 2021/22

I had pretty much zero confidence going into our Europa League qualifier against Wolfsburg. Despite our excellent showing against Anderlecht I knew this was going to be an entirely different prospect. German sides are notoriously strong and my aim was simply to avoid humiliation; if we could keep them to single figures over the two legs then that could be viewed as reasonable result from our point of view.

It has been a similar story this year to last, although we did lose our 100% record in the Super Cup. That particular match came right on the back of the Wolfsburg ties and the normal team was exhausted; the red card didnít help either. Otherwise it has been pretty much plain sailing.

A couple of slightly newsworthy items; firstly the Faroes manager got the boot again. I applied again and didnít get it. Again. We also got ourselves another parent team to help raise additional funding. We are currently losing about £65k per month so I felt it necessary to boost our coffers in some way.

In terms of the general quality of this yearís intake, it has to be said that it is a little lower than usual. However, there is one jewel which outshines the rest of the players. Martin Joensen (YP143) looks like a tremendous talent. Whilst we arenít particularly weak in central midfield, he is already better than anyone else we have in that position. Given the choice I think Iíd actually prefer intakes like this, with one player already set for the first team rather than two or three that need some work.

A final, successful league campaign was unfortunately not matched by our cup performances. We lost the Super Cup and were then defeated in the LÝgmanssteypiū semi final against Skala, who are a team we can usually beat put five or six goals past. A shame that we could not complete another clean sweep in my final season before the big crash, but I think we have done Hoyvik proud with the way we progressed over my ten seasons in charge.

Top Scorer: Petur Jacobsen (YP133) Ė Jacobsen was the standout player from last yearís youth intake and he showed why with a very impressive haul of 32 goals in just 21 starts this year. Not only that, but he seems to have actually improved over the past 12 months, perhaps as a result of our recent investment in our training ground.Most Assists: Eydun Lakjuni (YP122) Ė Lakjuni never quite reached the heights of last year, but he remained a star contributor with his goals and assistsManagerís Player of the Year:Petur Jacobsen (YP133) Ė he only just edges it over Lakjuni, mainly because I donít want to award the same player every year!

Next Season

Unfortunately, there will not be a next season. The game has gone forever it seems.

We only got as far as domestic dominance and couldnít quite make the step up in Europe. Iím quite sure we would have reached the group stages of the Champions League in the next few seasons. I donít know if we would ever have been able to become a force in Europe, and sadly we will never find out.

I never got the chance to manage the national side either, but even if I had I really doubt I could have made much of an impact at this early stage. Perhaps in a few years it would have been a different story.

Iíll make one more update in this thread - a few stats and records from my time with Hoyvik.

Here are our brief club and player records. Let me know if you want any last screenshots before I consign the save game to the recycle bin.

As from where I go from here, I think this has put me off using an unofficial database. The smallest league in Europe that comes with the game is probably Iceland, so I might end up in the second division there. Who knows!

I've been reading occasionally bits and pieces here of this thread, and only today decided to go from start to bottom. But then was shocked it has ended! Highly entertaining career, hopefully you can still rescue this. I want to see what happens to those players... Hoyvik was starting to look like a specialist factory of quality midfielders: Djuhuus, Lakjuni and now Joensen... But the biggest question of all was - would you ever get a 29th season ticket holder?

I'd also like to mention I'm completely daft and it took me AGES to figure out the pun in the title.

The early stages of the Champions league are starting to become a familiar place for us, and this year we were pit against a familiar side in the second qualifying round; Maribor. We played and beat the Slovenians back in 2018/19 season, so given our improvement since then I was fairly certain we could do the same this time around.

The first leg didnít exactly go to plan and we had to come from behind twice to salvage a 3-3 draw. We did have a goal disallowed that would have seen us take a lead to Slovenia, but as it stood we needed a victory in Maribor to progress to Q3.

Almost immediately, it was clear that we werenít going to make things easy for ourselves. Within 7 minutes we were a goal down and hanging onto our Champions League hopes by our fingernails. Thankfully the boys are made of stern stuff and soon equalised. At half time, and still trailing on away goals, I threw caution to the wind and went all out attack in search of the goal that would take us through. With just under 20 minutes remaining we got that crucial goal and managed to hold out for the remaining time for victory.

One interesting, and much welcomed development this season was that we were seeded for the Q3 draw. In theory that would give us a much easier tie and that looked like it might be true when we were drawn against Georgian side Dinamo Tbilisi. Whilst it would not be easy by any stretch of the imagination I was sure weíd have a better chance than we did against the likes of Anderlecht, Sparta Prague and Kobenhavn of previous seasons.

In the first leg (at home), we started poorly once again and conceded an early goal, but things soon turned our way. After just 7 minutes our visitors were reduced to ten men when Petur Jacobsen (YP133) was tripped in the box when through on goal. We scored the resulting penalty and managed to score a second penalty to seal a 2-1 victory. However, I couldnít help but feel a little disappointed and that it was an opportunity missed. Weíd controlled the match and really should have put the tie to bed. Instead, weíd have to face a tough trip to Tbilisi with the narrowest of leads.

The second leg was an enthralling match, so here are the highlights:

Also available in 720p

We got off to a great start but looked like a red card might ruin our chances, only for them to get a man sent off as well. In the end, we secured a great result and progressed on away goals.

That excellent result puts us into the playoff for the group stages where we will play Sparta Prague. Now unless Iím mistaken that secures us a place in the Europa League group stage even if we lose. Excellenty!

Weíre not in great shape at present. We continue to lose money, whilst not quite at an alarming rate, a pace that is a little uncomfortable. However, we havenít had any money from the Champions League campaign yet (it usually comes in when we get knocked out), so Iím hoping we get a little more than usual because of the relative success weíve had this season.

I have a few too many players at the moment so need to consider sending a few out on loan. Iím pretty pleased with our squad now though; we have some real quality (by Faroese standards!) at the club.

Just for your information, here is my first choice XI as it stands:

GK: Johannes Lakjuni (YP116) Ė one of our many Faroese international players. Not a bad player.
DR: Eydun Rasmussen (YP123) Ė another internationalist and again, not a bad player.
DC: Frits Lakjuni (YP88) Ė one of my most important players in the spine of the team
DC: Tordur Dam (YP81) Ė probably our first ever high quality youth pull. Itís a bit of a shame that he has never improved all that much.
DL: Kaj Hentze (YP98) Ė sadly another prospect that hasnít really improved since he arrived at the club. That said, still a decent player.
MC: Anfinn Jacobsen (YP92) Ė probably the player with the most competition for his place in the first team. We have a lot of other central midfielders of similar talent to this guy
MC: Martin Joensen (YP143) Ė the star of last seasonís youth intake and possibly our most gifted player.
AMC: Bjarki Djuhuus (YP97) Ė one of our most productive players. Again, he hasnít improved much over the course of his career.
AMC: Hallur Petersen (YP82) Ė he doesnít look that great, but he delivers week-in week-out.
AMC: Eydun Lakjuni (YP122) Ė the third of our Lakjuni trio and definitely the best of the bunch.
FC: Petur Jacobsen (YP133) Ė the striker we were lacking for a long time. He is being chased by a club from the UAE but hopefully that will come to nothing.

Iíd be interested to know what position you all would hope to get a good player in on youth intake day if you were me? Personally a goalkeeper would be my next priority or maybe a rightback.

The Champions League playoffs does indeed guarantee the Euro group stage, and you probably won't have too much finance troubles after the prize money even if you lose the draw.

For the youth intake, I would have to say your fullbacks probably, with your rightback as you mentioned being the worst one. If I'm not mistaken, 6.8 is a pretty good rating for a GK which he managed even in the Champions League, but 6.5 and 6.1 for fullbacks is just not that great. Would probably help you if they are a bit more offensively suited too since with playing 3 amcs the fullbacks can provide more width for you.

The Champions League playoffs does indeed guarantee the Euro group stage, and you probably won't have too much finance troubles after the prize money even if you lose the draw.

For the youth intake, I would have to say your fullbacks probably, with your rightback as you mentioned being the worst one. If I'm not mistaken, 6.8 is a pretty good rating for a GK which he managed even in the Champions League, but 6.5 and 6.1 for fullbacks is just not that great. Would probably help you if they are a bit more offensively suited too since with playing 3 amcs the fullbacks can provide more width for you.

I completely agree. Those average ratings really highlight the massive gap in quality between the CL and the domestic league. Last season my DR had a rating of 7.78 in the league! My keeper's stayed about the same though, mostly because he stands around doing nothing all season

When we played Sparta Prague back in 2018/19, they beat us 5-1 on aggregate in the second qualifying round of the Champions League. That time we managed to come away with a narrow 2-1 defeat in Prague, but were then clinically defeated 3-0 at home. This season, we were away in the first league again so I would have been quite pleased with a similar narrow defeat. However, what followed was in no way narrow, but it was quite a defeat.

They absolutely hammered us. The 6-1 scoreline reflected their dominance over the 90 minutes and I canít complain about it at all. I wasnít happy about the manner we conceded the goals and if we were going to play like that in future, it was just as well that we werenít going to qualify for the group stages of the Champions League. If that is what a mid-sized team like Sparta Prague could do to us, I would hate to think how weíd get on against a Barcelona or a Man Utd.

So, back to the Faroes with our tails between our legs, I was determined that the second leg would be a different story; for a bit of pride if nothing else. For the first time in history we managed to sell out the stadium (or at least the seated section since no standing areas are permitted in European competition), as 3,000 hardy souls turned up to watch the rematch. We performed much better and deserved the 0-0 draw that we achieved.

Overall, the Champions League campaign has been a good one. We got further than ever before, and as I said the result guaranteed us a place in the Europa League group stages. We also received a massive sum of money for the CL success and then some more for the Europa League place. That took our finances up to the £3m mark and I immediately asked the board to improve our training facilities. Last time they invested £95,000, but they didnít hold back this season and put over ten times that aside! That will surely make a huge positive impact on the clubís future.

Unsurprisingly, we were seeded 4th for the group stage draw and were probably the team that everyone in the competition wanted. There were a lot of great teams in the draw; Liverpool, Man City, Spurs, Fiorentina, Lazio, Atletico Madrid, Villarreal and so on, so I was sure weíd get a few tough games no matter what.

I can only apologise, but I was so engrossed in the game that I forgot to take any screenshots at the mid-season point, so weíve skipped straight to youth intake day this season, díoh! Iíll give a fuller update on the season so far because of that.

Our Europa League campaign started with arguably our easiest tie; Basel at home. If youíd asked me before the game, I would probably have said Iíd be happy to take a draw, so our 2-2 result should really have been a good result, but to be honest I was slightly disappointed. They had a man sent off and we had chance after chance, but failed to capitalise.

Since then, it looked like we would lose every match. We certainly didnít disgrace ourselves as we lost our next four games though. Our last match in the competition saw Spurs come to town and this happened. An unbelievable result! It wasnít enough to stop us from finishing the group in last place, but frankly, who cares!

Itís been a great experience to play in the group stages of a European competition for the first time. It has certainly given me a taste for it and made me all the more determined to keep progressing and improving.

Thankfully our Europa League exploits havenít had too much of a negative impact on our domestic campaign. I have had to rotate a lot more than previous seasons, so our matches immediately after the EL games have proven a little tougher; for example, our only draw came directly after the Tottenham away match.

Overall, itís been a good 6 months. We managed to win back the Super Cup and are in the final of the LÝgmanssteypiū, so I couldnít ask for more. The only thing that would top it all would be a great set of youthsÖ

Ok, not outstanding this season, but still acceptable. There are only really two players of note. Heini Joensen (YP152) will go someway to resolving our problematic rightback problem, but he needs some intensive pace training before heíll be a reliable defender.

The second player of the intake worth keeping an eye on is Jakup Hansen (YP151), who will join our long list of centrebacks. Heís another player that needs some pace training, but standing at 6í7Ē, you wouldnít expect him to be too quick!

Top Scorer: Petur Jacobsen (YP133) Ė the big striker hit 38 goals in 33 games. He was particularly potent in the domestic cup competitions, but I was most pleased by his performances in Europe where he scored 5 goals.Most Assists: Eydun Lakjuni (YP122) Ė Lakjuni has been our most creative player for some time now, and this season was no differentManagerís Player of the Year:Hallur Petersen (YP82) Ė Petersen is another player that is consistently productive, both in terms of goals and assists. This season was a great one for him. However, heís looking for a new contract at more than double the wages of anyone else in the squad and Iím not keen on giving him that.Fansí Player of the Year:Petur Jacobsen (YP133)

Next Season

Iím hopeful that we can get into the Europa League groups again. Itís been a very enjoyable and financially beneficial competition, so I want another chance at it.

Iím excited to see how our new training ground will impact on the players we have. Even with the fairly basic facilites we have just now, we have managed to produce 14 players for the latest national squad. We really have come a long way in a relatively short space of time.